Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday refuted suggestions that the Sena had struck a ‘deal’ with BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushan Singh, to keep Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray out of Ayodhya.
Mr. Raut, along with other Sena leaders, including Minister Eknath Shinde, reached the holy city to lay the ground for Maharashtra Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray’s June 15 Ayodhya visit.
“Mr. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is not someone to come under any pressure form anyone … He has his own style of leadership and way of creating a political atmosphere. He is president of the country wrestling federation [WFI]… I know him very well,” Mr. Raut told reporters in Ayodhya.
The MNS chief’s proposed visit to Ayodhya on June 5, which has been put on hold, had been vociferously opposed by Mr. Singh, who had demanded an apology from Mr. Raj Thackeray on account of the MNS’ past mistreatment of north Indians and the party’s regional chauvinism.
When questioned whether there was any ‘deal’ between the Shiv Sena, which is against the MNS in Maharashtra, and Mr. Singh to stop Mr. Thackeray from visiting Ayodhya, Mr. Raut snapped: “How can there be a deal? Does not everyone here [in Uttar Pradesh] agree with the point raised by Mr. Singh [on Mr. Thackeray’s tendering an apology].”
Responsible positions
When asked about the Sena’s stance on north Indians, Mr. Raut, his party’s chief spokesperson, said that across Mumbai and Thane, several people from north India were the party’s office-bearers or held other responsible positions.
Mr. Thackeray’s partymen had assaulted a number of north Indian aspirants across the State during the railway recruitment exams in 2008, demanding that local Maharashtrians be given jobs in their lieu.
Following the temporary postponement of Mr. Thackeray’s Ayodhya visit, Mr. Singh responded by calling the MNS chief “an unfortunate person” who would have done well to “seek forgiveness from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi” for his actions against north Indians.
On June 5, with Mr. Thackeray confined in Mumbai, Mr. Singh staged a massive show of strength in Ayodhya during which he again took jibes at the MNS chief by remarking that the latter failed to make it to the holy city as he “could not overcome his ego.”
